Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 trailer looks fun

Posted Wednesday, 29th February 2012 under New old games
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So, the above is a teaser trailer for Sonic 4: Episode 2, and it does look much better than episode 1, which I downloaded a while back and find myself hating the more I played it. For every step that made the game fun and exciting, it followed up with cheap deaths and terrible stage design that was more interested in punishing you rather than giving you options to explore without the fear of death nipping at your heels. The controls were also a bit wonky, the music needed work (Gecko Yamori remixed the first stage’s song on the Mega Drive’s audio chipset and it sounded so much better) and the fact you lose speed when you’re in a spin (and coupled with the face you break out of a spin when you roll into the air – WTF?) broke the entire game, at least in my book. That’s probably part of the reason why I still haven’t finished it, which I really want to do before episode 2 comes out.

So, it’s with mixed feelings that I’ve watched the above preview, because after Sega’s double-whammy at Christmas in the guise of two excellent Sonic games (Sonic Generations and Sonic CD on PSN/XBLA), I’m hoping we might get a better, more refined and enjoyable Sonic title with this release.

Daytona USA is coming to PSN and XBLA!

Posted Monday, 17th October 2011 under New old games
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Last week Siliconera reported that Daytona USA was coming to PSN and XBLA, featuring enhanced graphics (including widescreen support), 8 player online multiplay and all sorts of fun amazement. This comes on the heels of my previous post (which came via Retro Gaming Australia), where I hoped for nice HD visuals of the original assets and online multiplayer awesomeness. To say I’m chuffed would be an understatement 🙂

If this proves to be successful, perhaps we’ll see some other Sega arcade racers make it over. Sega Rally 1 and 2, Sega Touring Car and Scud Racer would all make wonderful additions to this lineup.

The only question that remains in my mind is the longevity of playing the game online – how long until online participation wears off? Take OutRun Online Arcade as an example – I love the game to bits, but nobody’s playing it on PSN much these days. Not that I can talk – I don’t get a lot of time for gaming these days, so I’m equally guilty of it as well.

So, in a perfect world the game would also support local multiplayer via split-screen and network (or both – 4 players on two networked PS3s for example). The thought of having 8 consoles hooked up for LAN Daytona is mind-blowing – if you ever had the luxury of going to an arcade with 8 Daytona machines hooked up with 8 mates in their respective cabs at the same time while duking it out with another 32 CPU cars on the track, you’d know such a thing is an amazing moment in arcade gaming.

Anywho, enough chatter – here’s the trailer:

We’ll apparently be seeing the game in November, while the US and Canada will be able to get started at the end of the month. Nice to see Daytona USA reflects the time it was developed by delaying the game for PAL territories 😉

Segagaga Domain Store is open again!

Posted Monday, 10th October 2011 under Shopping
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I’ve been thinking that quite a number of hoarding retro gamers don’t share their sources openly enough (and to be honest, I’ve been a bit like that in the past). So, I thought I’d change that up a bit and start posting about places I like to shop at online for new and retro games. I’ll also add them to the links section for easy reference down the track.

Today I’m going to talk about the work Yakumo over at Segagaga Domain (who is also the creator of the excellent retro gaming series Retro Core, a show I’ve discussed before) is doing now that he’s re-opened the online store. If I remember correctly, he used to run a similar venture a number of years back, selling Japanese Saturn and DC games acquired during his shopping expeditions as an ex-pat living in Japan. The new store he’s opened currently focuses solely on Saturn gear, with stacks of titles at great prices and very reasonable shipping costs for overseas buyers. I’ve made a few orders from there in the past and have had no issues whatsoever with the goods he’s selling – the descriptions are accurate and include all the nerdy details people like myself find important (such as stating condition/presence of everything in the set, including spine cards, and plenty of accurate photos) and everything’s been packed nicely.

As a bonus, I’ll hazard a guess that sales from the store help keep the site alive, which can only be a good thing. The wealth of content and coverage there is mammoth, so it’s definitely recommended if you’re into Sega consoles or Japanese gaming in general. Plus there’s also Retro Core, which I believe is essential viewing for anyone with even a remote interest in Japanese games. Especially the undercover videos of arcades, Japanese game stores and some of the general stuff around Japan too.

So check it out – Segagaga Domain – The Store – because good sources for gaming should be shared, not kept a secret!

Daytona USA – rated but not confirmed for XBLA or PSN

Posted Monday, 26th September 2011 under New old games
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I can’t take credit for this – Retro Gaming Australia reports that Daytona USA has a new listing in the OFLC’s database.

There’s no information regarding platform or much else – it’s been rated ‘G’ and Sega Australia filed the request.

It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of it – perfect Model 2 emulation internally running at 1080p with 8-player online multiplayer awesomeness? A combination of the Model 2 original plus the Model 3 successor, all running at 1080p w/online multiplayer? Perhaps a 720p (boo) HD version of the Dreamcast release of Daytona USA 2001? The advantage of the latter is that it looks nice (and would be nicer in 1080p, but previous Dreamcast ports have only been 720p), there’s network infrastructure in the source code IIRC and it has the original tracks plus plenty of extras accumulated from the various subsequent releases.

Assuming it’s a good thing, hopefully we’ll continue to see classic Sega arcade classics released via PSN/XBLA. I’d love a 1080p Sega Rally + Sega Rally 2 release, Sega Touring Car, Scud Racer… and all running at 1080p with online multiplay. And then there’s their fighting franchises – 1080p Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter 3, Fighting Vipers, Last Bronx… even Sonic The Fighters 😉

A Sega fan can dream, right?

Driving home to the sounds of Outrun Online Arcade

Posted Wednesday, 14th September 2011 under Video game music
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The other day I hopped in the car to head home from work and had a conundrum – I’d finished catching up on the last round of Retronauts podcasts and wasn’t sure what to listen to on the way home. So before turning the key I took a quick look through my playlist, saw Outrun Online Arcade, and thought, “Why not?”.

Turns out it was a great choice. There’s more than a hint of spring in the air, so I wound down my windows to let some fresh air in and listened to the golden, joyous remixes and original tracks from Outrun Online Arcade (which is basically Outrun 2/2006 but in HD with online play [that nobody plays anymore :(]).

So, inspired by this, I went through my Saturn games over the weekend just passed to add some redbook audio from a few games to the playlist – Daytona USA, Sega Touring Car and Sonic R (with that Richard Jacques magic) made the cut, then to mix it up I added in a few others, including Asuka 120% Limited – Burning Fest. Limited, Virtua Fighter Kids and (don’t laugh!) Keio Yugekitai – Katsugeki Hen.

The latter definitely put a smile on my face on the way in to the office. It reminds me I should fire it up some time soon for another round, it’s such an amazing little gem of a title.

Actually, this whole rant suggests I should do a dedicated post (or perhaps a couple of dedicated posts) on the joys of redbook audio in the 16-bit and 32-bit eras. Stay tuned, I’m sure I’ll get around to it at some stage!